Neighborhood school is beloved

Corl Street Elementary is a beloved institution that is the heart of all the neighborhoods whose children walk to the school.

Sixteen years ago, the school board began a master plan for all buildings in the district. Consultants proposed an option to close Corl Street and divide its students among other schools.

Parents of Corl Street students immediately organized to save our neighborhood school. We did research and discovered that small schools generally deliver better results; that loss of a neighborhood school damages property values; that the cost to operate one school bus was more than $35,000 per year. We surveyed Corl Street parents and learned that even most parents whose children bused to school wanted it to remain a neighborhood school.

When we presented our findings to the board, it chose to delay the decision on Corl Street until after it settled plans for high school renovations. High school construction has begun, and now the board is considering the fate of four elementary schools. Proposals include closing Corl Street. We again find ourselves fighting for the survival of our school.

Explore where you live.

We former and current Corl Street parents still love our neighborhood school for all of the above reasons. What has changed in 16 years? The national rate of childhood obesity has increased. The annual cost to run an elementary school bus has increased. The stability of our neighborhoods is increasingly challenged by apartment developments. The need to keep Corl Street Elementary has become even more urgent.